For homebuyers who like the looks of Lakewood, with its shopping at Belmar and its short commuting distance to downtown, the housing scene is decidedly old – most neighborhoods 30 to 50 years old. But CalAtlantic Homes can show you an eye-catching new home design that won the MAME Award for the best home of its class in the entire Denver-Boulder region this year; in a neighborhood chosen as the Denver area’s ‘Community of the Year.’

That honor went to Green Gables Reserve, the master-planned community created from historic Green Gables Country Club; transformed into an amenity-rich neighborhood that’s preserved the club’s beach along 40-acre Ward Lake and added trails and a resort-style pool club (it opened last summer). Green Gables’ setting has attracted an assortment of luxury single-family homes – but also a creative series of low-maintenance Paired Home designs by CalAtlantic, priced from the mid-$400s; with some that’ll be ready very soon.

At the Paired Homes, you’ll tour a ‘Flourish’ model – two master suites plus an upstairs loft and office; over 1,840 square feet of finished space plus basement and two-car attached garage – chosen ‘Best Home’ in its price range by the MAME judges. It has an eye-catching main-floor entertaining area that wows visitors and is priced from the $470s. If you like its looks, CalAtlantic has one similar that’s ready for move-in now, with wood floors, gas fireplace, 42-inch cabinets, and soft-close drawers, at $524,389.

Other Paired Home designs start from around $452,000 – a real price that can deliver a home on some Green Gables site. Paired designs, each sharing a common wall with another home, all offer the attached garage and options for finishing the basement space as additional entertaining space or bedroom suites. They also come with a complete outdoor maintenance package covering everything from the drywall out, save for an enclosed courtyard that buyers use for outdoor living space; or to give a labradoodle room to roam.

This all looks great to buyers who have combed surrounding Lakewood, looking for homes at this price don’t require loads of fix-up, according to Greg Reever, Sales Counselor. “Finding something new is very important to buyers around Lakewood,” he adds. “They’re used to seeing places that need a lot of work and that don’t have the warranty protections we provide.”

Paired homes also offer a variety of options for non-traditional buyers wanting a ‘next-gen’ floor plan – space for an older parent, or for a kid returning home. In addition to the dual-master Flourish model, Reever can show you a ‘Vivid’ plan with a main-floor bedroom suite (the first one is framed up this weekend); and a new ‘Array’ plan, with an option for a third bedroom suite over the garage, that has a private staircase from the mudroom.

You’ll see the large laundry rooms each home has on the bedroom level; and how close this is to the lake and pool, as well as to shopping at Belmar (five minutes). Green Gables Reserve is in unincorporated Jefferson County, surrounded by Lakewood. Take Wadsworth south past Belmar, two more miles to W. Jewell and turn east a half-mile to the entryway at Pierce. Head south to a roundabout, then south on S. Reed and follow the signs to the Paired Homes.

The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.

Mark Samuelson has written about housing, business and real estate for The Denver Post for more than 25 years. He is president of Samuelson and Associates, a communications company that specializes in builder marketing, real estate, and energy technologies.